As part of my Back to School push of renewing, re-evaluating and re-engaging, I must say that I am ABSOLUTELY a Starbucks fan!

It’s about way more than a caffeine addiction! For several years, The CEO and I owned an independent coffee shop and cafe on the historic Main Street in our fair town of Trinidad, Colorado and were irritated to say the least when Starbucks opened their store front the same day we did back in 2007!

I loved Starbucks for a very long time- that is until they seemed determined to open a store front on every corner in America! Anyone remember the ironic depiction of their proliferation featured in “Shrek 2” back in 2004?

BUT I LOVE STARBUCKS AGAIN!

I admit it. I do! It’s because of Howard Schultz’s book “ONWARD How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul” . During the last few years, The CEO and I have been in the process of reinventing ourselves and the core strengths that the two of us bring to the proverbial table.

Enter, RENDI launched almost one year ago!

But back to one of my new best friends, Howard Schultz- I feel as though I could sit and have a cup of coffee with him… His story of re-engaging Starbucks as he felt the soul of the company slipping away is one of the most engaging business books I have read! If you are looking to have your vision for your own dream or business re-ignited READ THIS BOOK while drinking a cup of coffee- Starbucks, of course

I know you will come to appreciate his passion for creating, supporting and sustaining both communities and people from start to finish, top to bottom and all the way through Starbucks! I know you’ll be inspired to think about your passion for what you do in a whole new way!

I have decided to send Howard some of my favorite quotes from “Onward” on custom signs that I made on, you guessed it, www.rendistyle.com ! Here’s one of my favorites:
SOUL FOOD: Need a Little Possibility?
Good Monday morning, Sweet Soul Sista!

I couldn’t help but follow up on Thursday’s post about discovering what you were made for, about learning to listen and look for what makes your heart beat and your spirit soar… that’s where possibilities, dreams and visions live.

Don’t you find it funny that we can so often see all the possibility bottled up in another person and yet we find it difficult to see the possibility within ourselves?

Do you ever make the mistake as seeing yourself as more of a To-Do List than a Package-of-Possibility?! Sound at all familiar? Perhaps that is what happens as we loose our ability to wonder and dream.

Maybe we stop seeing all the miraculous possibilities in ourselves when we get so busy that we stop listening to that still small voice that whispers to us about what we were created for?

I hope you will pin this SOUL FOOD card up somewhere to remind yourself of the truth that you are indeed a world of possibility and that the world needs you to be your brave and beautiful self! Or maybe you know someone else who could use a little nudge?

Back To School: Do You Have a Dream or a Vision?
As school gets started, I thought it would be great to dedicate the next few weeks to deliberately living my daily life as if it is an invitation to learn from any and everything that comes my way- all of it- the good, the bad and the ugly!

Life has a way of “schooling” us anyway, so why not make the decision to actively enroll and get the most out of it? 🙂 Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Be there, FULLY, in the oh-so-daily moments of your life and watch your heart, your head, your spirit, your strength and your joy begin to grow!

Being FULLY present enables you to take your dreams, your gifts and abilities, your purpose and your daily life seriously- as if God himself actually entrusts you with the thing that only you can do- whether it is raising children who turn out to be great mothers and fathers (HUGE) or beginning a movement that impacts mothers and children on the other side of the globe!
SOUL FOOD:Time For A New Rhythm

Good Monday Morning, Sweet Soul Sista!

I am guessing that as summer is coming to a close and schedules are knocking at your door, you are beginning to think about how you will be doing some things for yourself that the fun and crazy days of summer just didn’t allow for.

Today marks the beginning of a new rhythm at our house with school in session! It always gives me pause as I look at the landscape between here and the holidays and look at the projects and goals that I would like to try to accomplish before the end of the year….

loose the muffin top and get back to regular training
weed out the files in my office
have a garage sale with all the stuff the college boys left behind!
make a new friend or two
do some redecorating
bring some peace and civility to the political conversation in Washington

You get the idea! I love this quote I came across by Donald Trump… yeah, Donald Trump… bad hair, but good quote! Print it out and pin it on your bulletin board or send it to a girlfriend and go for the things you want to do for you! YOUR GOALS AND DREAMS ARE WORTH THINKING BIG ABOUT!

Back to School Fun!
It’s already that time of year!

I just went with the youngest of our family today to register for her senior year of high school! Yikes! And her two older brothers are already back at Baylor University! (Go Bears!)

So how about you? Are you already buying crayons (love the smell)? pencils? erasers? Kleenex? graph paper? calculators? And then there’s shoes! What is it with the summer and the growth of kids’ feet? I’m guessing it has something to do with the consumption of ice cream and popsicles!

It’s just crazy to me how fast the start of another school year rolls around! And what an incredible mark in time it is in the lives of kids, families and- us moms! Doesn’t it just amaze you how fast they grow, learn and become who they were created to be?

This summer I had the pleasure of meeting a young woman who was just hired to be a 1st grade teacher! After spending a week working with her, I just know that she is going to be the kind of 1st grade teacher I would have loved for my kids to have! She is full of life, smarts, principles and compassion! I have no doubt that she will be getting her class off to a great start with their education! AND it just was plain fun to meet a young woman who was so clear and confident in who she is! I love that, don’t you?

Sooooo, I just couldn’t resist making something for her to put in her classroom to encourage her young charges to become wonderful people! Take a look at these custom frames and this custom sign that I made in about 15 minutes on Rendi’s website. Really- so easy and so satisfying!!
SOUL FOOD: A Splendid Gift
My apologies for being AWOL last week and late on posting today!

I have had the pleasure of spending a week in the mountains of Colorado with my amazing hubby and three grown kids! It was such a gift to just BE with them without having a schedule to keep or an agenda to get through.

I was once again thoroughly blessed to have the gift of time to sit next to them, to talk about the book they were reading, to soak in sunshine with all of us lined up on the edge of the pool, to vote on whether organic hamburgers or wood fired pizza would be dinner, to listen to their dreams and plans for the future, to scratch their backs and walk arm in arm… such a splendid gift…. life’s moments shared and soaked in deeply- there is nothing small about that!

I hope your week will present you with the gift of time, of just BEING with someone who is near and dear to your heart. I hope you will seize the moment to look deep into their eyes and relish who they are as an amazing gift to you! I hope this little SOUL FOOD card will remind you to be on the lookout for those sweet moments!
SOUL FOOD: A Friend & A Bra!
Hey there, Sweet Soul Sista!

I am having so much fun finding SOUL FOOD quotes that I thought I pass a little extra on this week!

I JUST LOVE THIS WORD PICTURE of a friend! I hope makes you giggle today and brings a friend to mind that you just have to share the fun with!

Share the love- pass on the giggle and have a beautiful day!
SOUL FOOD: Life is Good!
Good August 1st, Monday morning, Sweet Friend! AUGUST 1st- wow!

Hope the sun is shining in your world today! Just wanted to send you one of my latest, most favorite quotes! It was in a moment of inspiration that I wrote this, wanting to expand on the the ever popular phrase, “live, laugh, love.”

These are now our new house rules at Casa Danielson…. I felt as though the “it up!” added a bit of fest and celebration to the everyday! It makes me smile to remember that life is a gift, life is good!